How a bill is passed in Parliament Anjali Dixit Assistant Professor Rama University,Kanpur BASICS OF LAW Thu, Apr 16, 2020, at ,11:27 AM Bill: A Bill is the draft of a legislative proposal brought before the House for its approval. Bill Format A Bill has to begin with a short title, a long title, the preamble, wherever necessary and an enacting formula. It also specifies the extent of applicability and in certain cases the date on which it will come into force. If a date is not indicated, it means that the provision of the Bill will come into force in accordance with the provision of section 5 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 i.e. on the date on which it receives the assent. Kinds of Bill: According to Article 107(1) of the Constitution, a Bill may originate in either House of Parliament. Government Bills : Bills initiated by Ministers are called Government Bills and Private Members' Bills: those bill introduced by Members who are not Ministers are known as Private Members' Bills. Depending on their contents, Bills may further be classified broadly into (a) Original Bills (Bills embodying new proposals, ideas or policies); (b) Amending Bills (Bills which seek to modify, amend or revise the existing Acts); (c) Consolidating Bills (Bills which seek to consolidate existing laws on a particular subject; (d) Expiring Laws (Continuance) Bills (Bills to continue an expiring Act); (e) Repealing Bills (Bills seeking to repeal existing Acts); (f) Bills to replace Ordinances; (g) Constitution (Amendment) Bills; and (h) Money and Financial Bills.( Money Bills on Taxation and Appropriation and Financial Bills because of their special features are treated separately from other Bills) Whether a Bill is an ordinary Bill or a Money Bill In case any question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the speaker, Lok Sabha, thereon, is final. When a Bill is held to be a Money Bill, the Speaker endorses a certificate thereon duly signed by the Speaker to that effect that it is a Money Bill before the Bill is sent to the Rajya Sabha or presented to the President for assent. Difference between a Bill and an Act? A Bill is a draft legislative proposal before the House. It becomes an Act only when passed by both the Houses of Parliament and assented to by the President. GOVERNMENT BILLS Initiation of Legislative Proposals Government legislative proposals are initiated by the Cabinet or a Minister of a Ministry. Proposals involving major policies of Government are initiated to implement the electoral promises on the basis of which the party was returned to power. Proposals of minor or secondary importance may be initiated by a Minister or his Ministry as a result of the experience of the working of the existing laws. In all cases, however, as soon as a legislative proposal has been thought of, the concerned Ministry works out its implications, viz.—political, administrative, financial, economic or social. If other Ministries of the Government or State Government are in any way concerned, their advice is taken into account. The opinion of experts, wherever necessary, is also obtained. The legal or constitutional aspects of the problem are examined in consultation with the Ministry of Law or the Attorney-General. After the proposal has been thoroughly examined from all points of view and those concerned with it have been consulted, a self-contained Memorandum is prepared, which after being cleared by the Ministry of Law is submitted to the Cabinet for approval. The Cabinet confines its discussion to the broad aspects of policy underlying the proposal and gives its decision. If the proposal is important, the Cabinet may ask one of its Standing Committees, or an ad-hoc Committee, to go into it in greater detail, and it may also require that after it has given approval to the principle or policy underlying the proposal, the draft of the actual Bill should be submitted to it for detailed scrutiny. Drafting of Bills : After the Cabinet has approved the proposal, the administrative Ministry forwards the papers to the Draftsman in the Ministry of Law for putting it into the shape of a Bill. Statement of Objects and Reasons: After the Bill has passed through all these various channels and has been finally agreed to by the Draftsman, experts, the Minister and the Cabinet, it is referred to the administrative Ministry for preparation of a ‘Statement of Objects and Reasons’, briefly explaining the purpose of the proposed legislation. T Bills Originating in the Parliament Various steps involved in the passage of a Bill A Bill while being considered has to undergo three stages in each House of Parliament. First Reading The first stage consists of the introduction of the Bill which is done on a motion moved by either a Minister or a Member. According to Rule 62 It is necessary to ask for leave to introduce the Bill. If leave is granted by the House, the Bill is introduced. This constitutes the First Reading of the Bill. Normally, the motion for introduction is not opposed, but there have been occasions when motions for introduction of Government and Private Members’ Bills have been opposed. If a motion for leave to introduce a Bill is opposed, the Chairman may, if he thinks fit, allow a brief explanatory statement to be made by the Member who opposes the motion and by the Member who moves it. Thereafter, without further debate, the question is put to the vote of the House. A member can also oppose a Bill on the ground that it initiates legislation on a matter which is outside the legislative competence of the House, in which case the Chairman may permit a full discussion thereon. Publication in Gazette After a Bill has been introduced, it is published in the Official Gazette as soon as possible. (Rule 68) But even before introduction, a Bill might, with the permission of the Chairman, be published in the Gazette. With the introduction of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committees, the Bills introduced in the Rajya Sabha or the Lok Sabha may be referred to these Committees by Hon’ble Chairman, Rajya Sabha or the Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha for examination and report.( Rule 270(b) and 273.) Second Reading During the second stage, any of the following motions can be moved: that the Bill be taken into consideration; that it be referred to a Select Committee of the House; that it be referred to a Joint Committee of the two Houses; or that it be circulated for the purpose of eliciting opinion thereon. Thereafter, the Bill is taken up for clause-by-clause consideration as introduced or as reported by the Select/Joint Committee. Bill before the Select/Joint Committee In the case of a Bill having been referred to a Select/ Joint Committee15, the Committee considers the Bill clauseby-clause just as the House does. Amendments can be moved to the various clauses by members of the Committee. The Committee can also take evidence of associations, public bodies or experts who are interested in the measures. After the Bill has thus been considered, the Committee submits its report to the House which considers the Bill as reported by the Committee Circulation of Bill for Eliciting Opinion A Bill may be circulated for the purpose of eliciting public opinion thereon and the opinions may be obtained through the agencies of the State Governments. Where a Bill has been circulated for eliciting opinion and opinions have been received and laid on the Table of the House, the next motion in regard to the Bill must be for its reference to a Select/Joint Committee. Clause-by-Clause Consideration The second stage of the Second Reading consists of clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill, as introduced or as reported by Select/Joint Committee. Discussion takes place on each clause of the Bill and amendments to clauses can be moved at this stage. If an amendment requires previous sanction or recommendation of the President, the Member giving such an amendment shall annex the same to his notice which shall not otherwise be valid. Each amendment and each clause is put to the vote of the House. The amendment becomes part of the Bill if they are accepted by a majority of the members present and voting. After the clauses, the schedules, if any, the Enacting Formula, Long Title and Short Title of the Bill have been adopted by the House, the Second Reading is deemed to be over. Third Reading The third stage is confined to the discussion on the motion that the Bill be passed and the Bill is passed/rejected either by voting or voice vote (or returned to the Lok Sabha by the Rajya Sabha in the case of a Money Bill). In passing an ordinary Bill, a simple majority of the Members present and voting is sufficient. Conditions of deadlock:- 1) One house passed the bill and the other rejected. [Art 108 (1) a] 2)When one house passes the bill and other houses also passed but with an amendment and that amendment is rejected by the first house.[Art 108 (1) b] 3) If more than 6 months elapse from the date of reception of the bill by the other house without the bill being passed by it. [ Art 108 (1) c] When the deadlock happened, a joint sitting of both the houses is organized and that is dissolved by majority votes.[ Art 108] After both houses of the Parliament passed the bill, it is presented to the President for assent who have the right to seek info about the bill and also have the power to return the bill to the parliament for reconsideration. But only one time the president can return it and if both the houses pass it again, then the president is bound to assent.[Art 111] After assenting of the president, the bill is notified as an act as well as the bill is brought into the force and rules and regulations are made by the executives who implement the act and tabled in parliament. Also, if any demerit seems in the act then it is sent for Judicial Review. Constitution Amending Bills In the case of a Bill to amend the Constitution, it can be introduced in either House of Parliament and it has to be passed in each House by a majority of the total membership of the House and a majority of not less than two-thirds of the Members present and voting. The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, if it fails to obtain the requisite majority as per the provisions of the article 368 in either House, is treated as not passed. The Constitution does not permit a joint sitting in case of disagreement between the Houses on the Constitution Amendment Bills. There have been instances in the past both in the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha when Constitution (Amendment) Bills failed to get the requisite majority. For instance, the Constitution Twenty-fourth (Amendment) Bill, 1970 regarding abolition of Privy Purses and Privileges of the Rulers of former Indian States could not be passed as it did not get the requisite majority in the Rajya Sabha. The Bill secured at the consideration stage, 149 votes in its favour and 75 against it. The total members present and voting were 224 out of which 150 i.e. 2/3 of 224 were required for the Bill. Therefore, the Bill failed through by a fraction of vote (i.e. actually by one vote). The Bill was again introduced as the Constitution Twenty-sixth (Amendment) Bill, 1971, and passed. When a Bill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha, it is transmitted to the Lok Sabha for concurrence with a message to that effect. Bills Originating in the other House and Transmitted to the Council After a Bill is passed by the Lok Sabha, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha for concurrence with a message to that effect and is, as soon as may be, laid on the Table. It goes through the same stages in the Rajya Sabha — consideration and passing or return. In regard to Money Bills,22 the Lok Sabha has got the exclusive power to legislate and the Rajya Sabha can only recommend amendments therein and must return such a Bill to the Lok Sabha within fourteen days from the date of its receipt. It is open to the Lok Sabha to accept or reject any or all the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha with regard to a Money Bill. In the past, on three occasions the recommendations made by the Rajya Sabha were accepted by the Lok Sabha. If a Money Bill passed by Lok Sabha and transmitted to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations is not returned to the Lok Sabha within the said period of fourteen days, it is deemed to have been passed by both Houses at the expiration of the said period22a in the form in which it was passed by the Lok Sabha. Consideration of the Bill at a Joint Sitting of both Houses If a Bill, other than a Money Bill and the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, passed by one House is rejected by the other House, or the Houses have finally disagreed as to the amendments to be made in the Bill, or more than six months elapse from the date of receipt of the Bill by the other House without the Bill being passed by it, the President may summon a Joint Sitting of the two Houses to resolve the deadlock. The Bill is deemed to have been passed by both the Houses in the form in which it is passed by a majority of the total number of members of both the Houses present and voting in the Joint Sitting. ASSENT OF THE PRESIDENT When a Bill is passed by both Houses, the Secretariat of the House, which is last in possession of the Bill, obtains the assent of the President. In the case of a Money Bill or a Bill passed at a Joint Sitting of the Houses, the Lok Sabha Secretariat obtains the assent of the President. The Bill becomes an Act only after the President’s assent has been given thereto. As per article 111, the President can give his assent or withhold his assent to a Bill. The President can also return the Bill (except a Money Bill) with his recommendations to the Houses for reconsideration and if the Houses pass the Bill again with or without amendment, the Bill has to be assented to by the President. In the case of a Bill which seeks to amend any of the provisions of the Constitution in terms of article 368 of the Constitution after it is passed by the Houses by requisite special majority and ratified by the States where required by the proviso to clause (2) of article 368 of the Constitution, the President has to accord his assent thereto. Faculty Anjali Dixit Assistant Professor Faculty of Juridical Sciences Rama University,Kanpur